Methanol Demand Research Articles

Design and analysis of negative CO2 emission methanol synthesis process incorporating green hydrogen and blue hydrogen

Methanol (MeOH) production by integration of green and blue hydrogen is evaluated herein. From 2018 to 2023, methanol demand increased by 3.6 % due to its use in various chemical industries as an eco-friendly fuel and as a method of transporting hydrogen and capturing renewable CO2. Moreover, due to the continual decrease in the cost of renewable energy, research into the use of green hydrogen from electrolysis is being conducted. Most of this research has focused on producing methanol from the green hydrogen obtained from proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis along with CO2 emissions from power plants. The present study examines processes based on oxyfuel combustion with oxygen obtained from either the PEM or an air separation unit (ASU) to produce methanol. By using oxyfuel combustion, the carbon capture process (which accounts for 30–50 % of the blue hydrogen cost) and pure (>98.75 %) 7.45 tCO2/tH2 can be obtained by separating H2O from the flue gas. By using the PEM, green hydrogen can capture 0.35 tCO2/tMeOH of external CO2. Furthermore, a carbon techno-economic analysis (CTEA) and a sensitivity analysis are conducted to evaluate the sustainability and feasibility of the proposed processes. As a result, the levelized cost of methanol (LCOM) is $373.91/tMeOH for the Blue process and $428.78/tMeOH for the Blue + Green process, each of which is below the current market price of $500/tMeOH. If the PEM price continues to decrease, and the carbon credit increases by €300/tCO2, after 2030, the Blue + Green process will become more lucrative than the Blue-only process. Thus, by considering the continuous decrease in renewable energy prices, the production of methanol via a hybrid Blue + Green process is suitable for a sustainable future.

Investigation of sustainable operation oriented- economic, process and environment based multi-criteria optimization of large scale methanol production plant

Methanol is one of the main raw materials and a building block for many essential chemicals in the industry, and it is widely produced from the synthesis gas. It is used as a fuel, solvent, inhibitor, antifreeze agent, and in producing a variety of chemicals including olefins and paraffin. The global demand for methanol is 70 million tons per year and it is estimated to grow by a factor of 6–8% per year so it is necessary to develop a methanol production process, which is economical, and environment friendly. The multi-objective optimization (MOO) approach is used to optimize the large scale Lurgi two-step methanol synthesis process using the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) to find the Pareto front solutions involving the process, economic, and environmental-based objectives. Methanol production rate, total energy consumption, total annual CO2 emissions, and profit are considered as objectives. The five decision variables include syngas molar flow, reactor feed pressure, reactor 1 temperature, reactor 2 temperature, and by-product mass flow in the methanol distillation column. Two constraints are set on ethanol mole fraction in the methanol stream, and methanol mole flow in water to the treatment stream. Three optimization cases (two bi-objective and one tri-objective) are developed. In the Case 1 study, CO2 emissions decreased by 65.83%, the methanol production rate increased by 10.11%, and total energy was reduced by 57.55%. The Pareto ranking is carried out using the Preference Ranking On the Basis of Ideal-average Distance (PROBID) method and the best optimal solution is reported for all cases.

International trade of green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol: Opportunities of China's subregions

Global initiatives to reduce carbon emissions are stimulating the demand for green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol. By 2023, the total low-carbon hydrogen production capacity from announced projects worldwide is projected to reach 38 million tonnes. China is experiencing a surge in green hydrogen projects, with a growing number targeting international markets in addition to domestic demand. This study delves into a systematic modeling analysis to uncover the pivotal roles that China's subregions can play in shaping the future global trade of green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol. Utilizing a dynamic programming model, complemented by an array of supply chain models for detailed cost estimations, the study highlights the unique advantages and vast potential of subregional engagement in both domestic and international trade. Furthermore, the research explores the essential infrastructure demands and assesses the impact of renewable energy costs and policy shifts on the evolving trade landscape.

Evaluating Methanol and Liquid CO2 Recovery from Waste-to-Energy Facilities: A Life Cycle Assessment Perspective

This study investigates an integrated approach in which CO2 captured from waste-to-energy (WtE) facility flue gases is exploited to produce methanol (CH3OH), via a catalytic reaction with H2, and liquid CO2 for industrial applications. The integrated system is fully powered by energy from WtE, including the facility for alkaline electrolysis for hydrogen production. The amount of energy necessary for producing 1 tonne of CH3OH was 10.2 MWh, which can be generated by the combustion of approximately 25 tonne of waste in a typical European WtE. Under these conditions, 18.1 tonnes of liquid CO2 can also be recovered. Compared to the conventional production of CH3OH, the proposed system achieves a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, about 492.3 kg CO2eq per tonne of CH3OH. Other environmental impacts, such as particulate matter, acidification, and freshwater ecotoxicity, were found to be quite similar between the two scenarios. Furthermore, the EU27 WtE systems have the potential to meet about 22 % of the current methanol demand in the area significantly contributing to the EU’s goals for a circular and carbon–neutral economy.

E-Methanol Production and Potential Export in the Northern Denmark Region for 2030 and 2045

Denmark has set a target of 4–6 GW electrolysis capacity by 2030, of which a part of the produced hydrogen is to be used for export, while the rest could be transformed further into electrofuels. The North Denmark Region has favourable conditions for the production of carbon-based fuels. The region has high availability of CO2 sources and a strategic position for establishing CO2 hubs in the local harbours that could support biogenic CO2 availability in the future. This paper investigates the potential of the region for exporting e-methanol through 22 energy system scenarios and the impacts on the energy system if this is to be realised by 2030 and 2045, when Denmark is expected to achieve its national climate goals. The analysis highlights the significant potential of this region to contribute to e-methanol production not only to meet the regional demand for methanol for marine transport and aviation but also for export to the rest of Denmark or beyond Danish borders.

How much hydrogen could we need in New Zealand? Understanding the diverse hydrogen applications and their regional mapping

ABSTRACT Green hydrogen could become a key solution for the decarbonisation of diverse sectors in the energy transition. Beyond supplying the current demand for ammonia, methanol, and steel, new applications like aviation fuels, high-temperature heat and seasonal storage are promising. While initial efforts have been made to understand the future of hydrogen in New Zealand, there has been no comprehensive quantification of hydrogen demands. In this study, using systems analysis, we quantify the potential demand for 20 hydrogen applications in the country, including their spatial allocation to each of the 16 regions. We sort these applications using the so-called Clean Hydrogen Ladder concept. The associated database is open source. The results show that New Zealand's total demand for green hydrogen would be around 2.8 Mt if all technically feasible applications switched to hydrogen. Prioritising the demand for applications in rungs A and B of the Clean Hydrogen Ladder concept, we estimate approximately 0.24 and 0.77 metric tons, respectively. The findings of this research contribute to the development of a hydrogen strategy and serve as inputs for optimal planning of integrated energy pathways for New Zealand.

Cross-sectoral assessment of CO2 capture from U.S. industrial flue gases for fuels and chemicals manufacture

Although CO2 impacts the environment negatively, it can be a valuable resource due to its carbon content. The U.S. industry emits over 825 Mt of CO2 annually, with an expected increase in the future. This article analyzes 27 different technology combinations for capturing and using CO2 for industrial feedstocks, including the production of synthetic methane, methanol, and Fischer-Tropsch fuels. The study also estimates and compares the energy requirements for capturing and converting CO2 from 16 different industrial sources, as well as the energy requirements for hydrogen production through state-of-the-art and emerging electrolyzer technologies. Additionally, the study develops a combined scenario that outlines a design for applying an inclusive approach to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions in the industrial sector, incorporating multiple decarbonization measures. The results suggest that the use of CO2 for methane production has the potential to replace all natural gas demands considered in the base case and combined scenarios. However, using CO2 utilization-based Fischer-Tropsch products alone to replace naphtha feedstock and transportation fuels is not sufficient to achieve complete decarbonization in the studied end uses. CO2 utilization-based methanol could potentially substitute for several times the current U.S. methanol production and meet the current global demand for methanol. Moreover, the study conducts an economic analysis to estimate the costs of CO2 utilization, which vary for different industrial sectors and depend on the technologies employed. Overall, this study provides valuable information for policymakers and industry stakeholders who are striving to develop effective strategies to decarbonize the industrial sector.

Implications in the production of defossilized methanol: A study on carbon sources

The transition of the current fossil based chemical industry to a carbon-neutral industry can be done by the substitution of fossil carbon for defossilized carbon in the production of base chemicals. Methanol is one of the seven base chemicals, which could be used to produce other base chemicals (light olefins and aromatics). In this research, we evaluated the synthesis of methanol based on defossilized carbon sources (maize, waste biomass, direct air capture of CO2 (DAC), and CO2 from the cement industry) by considering carbon source availability, energy, water, and land demand. This evaluation was based on a carbon balance for each of the carbon sources. Our results show that maize, waste biomass, and CO2 cement could supply 0.7, 2, 15 times the carbon demand for methanol respectively. Regarding the energy demand maize, waste biomass, DAC, and CO2 from cement demand 25, 21, 48, and 45GJtonMeOH separately. The demand for water is 5300, 220, 8, and 8m3tonMeOH. And lastly, land demand was estimated to 1031, 36, 83, and 77m2tonMeOH per carbon source. The high-demanding-resource production of defossilized methanol is dependent on the availability of resources per location. Therefore, we analyzed the production of defossilized methanol in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, China, and the USA. China is the only country where CO2 from the cement industry could provide all the demand of carbon. But as we envision society becoming carbon neutral, CO2 from the cement industry would diminish in time, as a consequence, it would not be sufficient to supply the demand for carbon. DAC would be the only source able to provide the demand for defossilized carbon.

Theoretical Perspective of Promoting Direct Methane-to-Methanol Conversion at Complex Metal Oxide-Metal Interfaces.

Direct methane conversion to methanol has been considered as an effective and economic way to address greenhouse effects and the current high demand for methanol in industry. However, the process has long been challenging due to lack of viable catalysts to compromise the activation of methane that typically occurs at high temperatures and retaining of produced methanol that requires mild conditions. This Perspective demonstrates an effective strategy to promote direct methane to methanol conversion by engineering the active sites and chemical environments at complex metal oxide - copper oxide - copper interfaces. Such effort strongly depends on extensive theoretical studies by combining density functional theory (DFT) calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations to provide in-depth understanding of reaction mechanism and active sites, which build a strong basis to enable the identification of design principles and advance the catalyst optimization for selective CH4-to-CH3OH conversion.

The Business Prospect of Biomass to Methanol Development in Namibia: A Review

In Indonesia, the demand for methanol as renewable alternatives or chemical feedstock has been rising significantly to address the shortage of its domestic fossil fuels need. In the future, Indonesia expects to increase their methanol production using gasification process to balance its domestic demand. This paper presents the business prospect of methanol production from overseas, i.e., Namibia using biomass (encroacher bush types) feedstocks. It is concluded that biomass is available as an alternative feedstock to generate pure methanol. In Namibia, biomass is one of the most abundant and easily accessed resources for energy uses. However, without appropriate business endorsement by the government, such as a well-designed policies and incentives, the project’s prospect is still limited and very costly to be implemented. The financial planning of investment, particularly in how to find the best technological design of methanol processing, is highly essential to gain the maximum net business profit.

A comparative techno-economic analysis of renewable methanol synthesis from biomass and CO2: Opportunities and barriers to commercialization

Global demand for methanol as both a chemical precursor and a fuel additive is rising. At the same time, numerous renewable methanol production pathways are under development, which, if commercialized, could provide significant environmental benefits over traditional methanol synthesis pathways. However, it is difficult to compare technologies at different maturity levels, with differing feedstocks, and with significant differences in overall process design. Thus, there is a need to harmonize the analyses of renewable pathways using a consistent techno-economic approach to evaluate the potential for commercialization of various pathways. This analysis uses a novel cross-comparison method to assess near-term and long-term viability of both low- and high-maturity level technologies. The techno-economic assessment considers cost factors critical to market acceptance combined with carbon- and energy-efficiency assessments of three renewable pathways compared with a commercial baseline. We find that biomass gasification to methanol represents a near-term viable pathway with a high technology readiness level and commercially competitive market price. If cost-reducing technological improvements can be realized and scaled up in the CO2 electrolysis pathways, the potential for higher carbon efficiencies may help drive market adoption of these more modular, direct conversion pathways in future markets as they present an opportunity to better support global decarbonization efforts through efficient waste carbon utilization.

Analysis of Agricultural Production for Alcohol Production in the Light of World Trends

According to researches of analysts decrease in production of ethyl alcohol is marked, annual decrease makes more than four percent a year, and this tendency worsens. In the current conditions of increased demand, it is necessary to develop mechanisms to stimulate alcohol producers, but as the basis is an organic product, and the raw material for production is agricultural products, so it is necessary to increase the production of grain, potatoes and other types of products suitable as raw materials. Against the background of increase of world prices for grain, ethanol and other goods, the problem of own production passes into the category of main factors directed to economic and in general to national security because of increase of need in disinfectants in connection with situation on coronovirus. Leaders in production are the USA and China, where production capacities are growing rapidly, in these countries biotechnological complexes with full cycle of non-waste production are created. Growth in demand for methanol, particularly in China, has taken place against the backdrop of further declines in production capacity in the USA, where production costs were on average 40% higher than in other countries. Methanol production capacity in the USA has been decreasing annually, resulting in increased imports.

Synergistic interaction between Cu and ZrO2 promotes ethyl formate hydrogenation to produce methanol

Converting formate to methanol is an economic strategy to expand the production of formate from CO2 electro-reduction while satisfying the increasing market demand for methanol. For selective hydrogenation of formate esters to methanol, it is crucial to understand how the interaction between metal catalyst and support affects catalytic performance. In this paper, ZrO2 was employed as the support to promote the Cu catalysts’ activity and selectivity in liquid-phase hydrogenation of ethyl formate. To maximize the production yield of methanol, various catalyst properties and reaction condition were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, i.e., 160 °C and 400 psi H2, ∼ 53 % of methanol were yielded from the hydrogenation of ethyl formate in anhydrous ethanol solvent over the 20 wt% Cu/ZrO2 catalyst. The calcination temperature in the catalyst synthesis had profound effects on the Cu valence states, the structure of the ZrO2 support, and the interactions between Cu and ZrO2. A variety of characterization tools, including XRD, XPS, and HRTEM, were used to elucidate the structure-activity relationship of the Cu/ZrO2 catalysts. These findings will facilitate the next-generation catalyst design and elucidate the synergistic interaction between Cu and ZrO2 that promotes ester hydrogenation reactions.

Evaluation of different cooling technologies for industrial methanol synthesis reactor in terms of energy efficiency and methanol yield: An economic-optimization

In recent years, increasing demand for methanol, as a clean alternative to fossil fuels, necessitates analyzing the methanol synthesis reactor in terms of econometrics, methanol production, and energy efficiency. So, the aim of this work was to compare three kinds of industrial methanol synthesis reactor based on implemented cooling technologies, namely direct-cooling reactor (DCR), quench-cooling reactor (QCR), and indirect-cooling reactor (ICR) under the same feed-flow rate and catalyst weight. The performance of these reactors was evaluated in terms of energy efficiency and methanol yield under optimal conditions obtained through an economic-optimization. To identify decision variables for optimization procedure, a one-dimensional heterogeneous model was established to investigate the impact of different variables on the methanol yield. The results show that the DCR had the most profit value (i.e., 249,697 US$/day) and the highest methanol yield (i.e., 0.455) compared to other reactors. In addition, although no excess energy was required to provide products in all configurations due to the arrangement of equipment suggested for these processes, boiling-water was used to cool the catalyst-bed of DCR. In general, these configurations could be sorted from the most desirable one to the least in the following order: DCR > 5-bed ICR > 5-bed QCR.

Working conditions and the formation of health risks among workers of the petrochemical industry engaged in the production of methanol and its derivatives

Introduction.Methanol and its derivatives occupy one of the leading places among the main organic synthesis intermediates in terms of their importance and scale of production. According to experts, by 2027 the global demand for methanol can reach 135 million tons, the annual growth will be about 5.5%. However, there is little information regarding the assessment of working conditions and occupational risks for workers in modern methanol production and its derivatives.The aim of the studyis hygienic assessment of working conditions and the formation of health risks in workers of modern production of methanol and methylamines.Materials and methods.The assessment of the main adverse factors of production is given. When studying the state of health, objective indicators (the results of an in-depth medical examination) and subjective (the results of a quantitative assessment of the risks of the main pathological syndromes associated with health) are considered.Results.According to long-term observations, the concentration of harmful substances in the air of the working area, indicators of labor severity, parameters of physical factors met hygienic requirements, with the exception of industrial noise exceeding the maximum permissible level, as well as labor intensity of 1 degree. The General assessment of working conditions corresponds to the category of harmful 2 degrees (3.2). According to the results of the medical examination and quantitative assessment of the risks of health disorders in workers, the most significant were functional disorders and diseases of the circulatory system. The levels of somatic pathology on the part of the main body systems were significantly higher in apparatchiks compared to the engineering and technical personnel (ETP).Conclusions:In the production of methyl alcohol and methylamines, the main hygienic importance is the impact on workers of the complex of harmful substances of 1-IV hazard classes in low concentrations, increased levels of industrial noise, labor intensity of 1 degree. According to the subjective assessment of health and medical examination, the greatest prevalence of health risks in workers was observed from the circulatory system, and the levels of the revealed somatic pathology were statistically significantly higher in apparatchiks compared with the ETP.

An outlook towards 2030: Optimization and design of a CCUS supply chain in Germany

A mathematical model for the optimal design of a supply chain for carbon capture, utilization and storage is developed. Carbon dioxide may be stored and/or utilized to produce methanol via methane dry reforming. The Mixed Integer Linear Program model is developed for ten major carbon dioxide emission sources in Germany. Three different cases are considered, according to hydrogen production route required to correct the syngas composition: hydrogen by external reforming, hydrogen by external water electrolysis, hydrogen by internal steam reforming. Results show that absorption is the preferred capture solutions at high flue gas flow rate. Results also show that the best option is providing hydrogen by water electrolysis, because a higher amount of carbon dioxide is used to produce the same amount of methanol with lower environmental impact. The proposed network produces 203 Mton/year of methanol, then Germany would be able to satisfy the world methanol demand in the next years. Carbon tax and economic incentives are required to reduce the methanol production cost to 340 €/ton: only in this case the process is economically feasible.

Methanol-Managing greenhouse gas emissions in the production chain by optimizing the resource base

The growing demand for methanol as fuel and global competition for resources are key drivers behind the need to find new routes for the production of bulk chemicals such as methanol. Widening the resource base is also linked to the increasing concentrations of methane in the atmosphere. Furthermore, managing greenhouse gas emissions is vital in developing new technologies. This paper compares production routes for methanol based on a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA is limited to the impact categories of global warming potential (GWP100) and energy use. The highest GWP100 value of 2.97 kg CO2eq/kg CH3OH is for methanol from coal, and the lowest, negative emission of 0.99 kg CO2eq/kg CH3OH is for methanol in co-production with renewable corn ethanol. A comparison of production routes is performed using the carbon dioxide equivalent abatement cost, and the production cost of methanol. The best performing technology on both production cost and GWP100 is methanol produced by gasification from wood biomass. The factors affecting the results are addressed. >

Innovative Methanol Synthesis Process by Using Exergy Recuperative Pressure and Heat Circulation Modules

The demand for methanol will continue increasing methanol is attractive as fuel applications and chemicals. To reduce energy requirements for the methanol synthesis, it is necessary to investigate a whole process and to retrofit it with energy saving processes. Recently, the authors developed a self-heat recuperation technology (SHR) for saving energy and developed the exergy recuperative pressure and heat circulation modules to expand SHR to the pressure recovery. In this paper, the feasibility of applying exergy recuperative pressure and heat circulation modules to the methanol synthesis process was investigated and an innovative process for methanol synthesis process was developed from the energy saving point of view. By installing exergy recuperative pressure and heat circulation modules to the methanol synthesis process, the energy consumption of the process can be greatly reduced.

RECYCLING OF CARBONE OXIDES (CO, CO2) CONVERSION INTO METHANOL AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE OVER MECHANOCHEMICAL ACHTIVATED CUO-ZNO-AL2O3 CATALYST

The catalytic process for methanol production by synthesis gas conversion under the conditions of mechanochemical activation (MCA) of copper-zinc-aluminum oxide catalyst in the temperature range 160–280 °C at a pressure of 0.1 MPa are investigated. The use of mechanical action force is one of the promising ways to improve the activity of heterogeneous catalysts designed to simplify the manufacturing process lines, improving the efficiency of catalytic processes and reduce the cost of the target product. Given the importance of technology for methanol production on copper-zinc-aluminum oxide catalysts and high demand for methanol in the world [1–3], clarification of the peculiarities of the process of methanol production by synthesis gas conversion in terms of mechanical load on the catalyst is important in scientific and applied ways. It is established that specific catalytic activity, performance of methanol synthesis catalyst and the conversion of initial reagents are increased in the conditions of mechanochemical activation, because of the increasing concentration of defects and formation of additional active centers. It is revealed that mechanochemical treatment of copper-zinc-aluminum oxide catalyst can reduce reaction initiation temperature and optimum temperature synthesis by 20–30 °C, and increase the maximum performance of the catalytic system. Increase of the catalyst activity under mechanical stress is explored by increase of defect concentration of crystal lattice of the catalyst, as confirmed by the tests of catalyst surface structure by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray analysis. A new effective method for synthesis gas conversion into the methanol under conditions of mechanochemical activation of the catalyst can be used in industry as an alternative to methanol production at high pressures.

Pichia pastoris Mut(S) strains are prone to misincorporation of O-methyl-L-homoserine at methionine residues when methanol is used as the sole carbon source.

BackgroundOver the last few decades the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has become a popular host for a wide range of products such as vaccines and therapeutic proteins. Several P. pastoris engineered strains and mutants have been developed to improve the performance of the expression system. Yield and quality of a recombinant product are important parameters to monitor during the host selection and development process but little information is published regarding quality differences of a product produced by different P. pastoris strains.ResultsWe compared titer and quality of several Nanobodies® produced in wild type and MutS strains. Titer in fed-batch fermentation was comparable between all strains for each Nanobody but a significant difference in quality was observed. Nanobodies expressed in MutS strains contained a product variant with a Δ−16 Da mass difference that was not observed in wild type strains. This variant showed substitution of methionine residues due to misincorporation of O-methyl-l-homoserine, also called methoxine. Methoxine is likely synthesized by the enzymatic action of O-acetyl homoserine sulfhydrylase and we confirmed that Nanobodies produced in the corresponding knock-out strain contained no methoxine variants. We could show the incorporation of methoxine during biosynthesis by its addition to the culture medium.ConclusionWe showed that misincorporation of methoxine occurs particularly in P. pastoris MutS strains. This reduction in product quality could outweigh the advantages of using Mut strains, such as lower oxygen and methanol demand, heat formation and in some cases improved expression. Methoxine incorporation in recombinant proteins is likely to occur when an excess of methanol is present during fermentation but can be avoided when the methanol feed rate protocol is carefully designed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0499-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.